In the treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma and allergies, the distribution of asthma or allergy management devices such as therapeutic dosage delivery devices and respiratory assessment devices is for self-use by a patient according to a management strategy prescribed by the patient's health care provider. As is well known to persons skilled in the art, dosage delivery devices typically include a cartridge or housing that contains an asthma medicament in liquid or powder form, and an outlet adapted for delivering dosages to the patient orally or nasally. The medicament is either pre-loaded in the cartridge, or a package containing the medicament is loaded in the cartridge by the patient. The whole of such delivery devices can be disposable after one or more uses, or the cartridge can be reusable indefinitely with the package containing the medicine replaced when depleted. Depending on the severity of the pulmonary disease, a number of different kinds of medicines may be prescribed to a patient. For example, some medicines are indicated for prevention and must be administered on a repeated, regular basis, while other medicines are indicated for emergencies and administered only on an as-needed basis.
When the medicament is a liquid, it can be provided in the cartridge in bulk quantity, which requires the patient to administer the proper dosage through an inhalation means such as a nozzle. One common type of delivery device, often termed a metered dose inhaler, consists of a housing having an internal passage and an orifice. A canister equipped with a valve and containing pressurized liquid medicament is inserted by the patient into the housing, such that the stem of the valve is seated in the internal passage of the housing. To administer a dosage of the medicine, the patient actuates the device by pushing the canister and the housing towards each other, thereby opening the valve and releasing a properly metered dosage from the orifice. Alternatively, when the medicament is a powder, it can be distributed in a package containing pre-metered doses in individual packets (e.g., blisters), in which case the delivery device includes a patient-actuated means for puncturing each packet to deliver the dosage to the patient.
One example of a respiratory assessment device is the peak flow meter. When properly used, the peak flow meter enables the patient to track the severity of his or her asthma or related pulmonary condition over time and evaluate the effectiveness of his or her prescribed management strategy. Such a self-assessment provides useful feedback for the patient's health care provider, and can indicate whether the management strategy should be modified such as by changing the dosage schedule or selecting a different medicine.
In view of the foregoing, and as well known to persons skilled in the art, the success of any given asthma management strategy depends significantly on the efforts, knowledge, and skill of the patient. For instance, the patient must make proper use of the asthma management products according to the instructions provided, whether those products include dosage delivery devices or testing devices. It has been found, for example, that the improper actuation of inhaler products can result in the delivery of therapeutically ineffective dosages of medicine to the patient's respiratory system. In the case of testing devices, improper use can produce inaccurate data. In addition, the patient must adhere to the prescribed management strategy, including administering the correct medicine according to conditions and administering the correct dosage or number or dosages per day and at the correct times. Common reasons for the failure of a patient's management strategy include the absence of means for reminding the patient to use the prescribed management devices, and the lack of readily available information to keep the patient informed about his or her disease and about the proper use of the prescribed management devices.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a device for holding and storing respiratory disease management devices in a highly visible location so as to remind a patient suffering from chronic respiratory diseases to adhere to his or her treatment schedule. It would be further advantageous to provide such a holding device with a display of information useful to the patient in the management of his or her disease. The present invention is provided to address these and other problems attending the management of respiratory-related disease.